The McKays
by June Odyssey
Summary: A short little AU where John Sheppard and Rodney McKay become brothers, (officially). Please enjoy it! Complete... for now?


**This is just a little something that I wrote a while ago and decided to post in between my other story, Mortifero Morbo. I'm not sure where it'll go or even if it'll go at all, but please, enjoy!**

* * *

Jonathan Sheppard had been 16.

His mother had died three years before and his father was becoming more and more oppressive. You _must_ do this and you _must_ do that. Business, politics, – he shuddered thinking of those as well as number three – _social skills._

Dave was alright. He and his father had been cut from the same cloth though, he hung on Patrick Sheppard's every word about his work day. Dave truly tried to be companionable to both remaining members of his family but he tended to have the same thought process as Patrick. To his credit the older son tried to be nicer about convincing John not to 'throw away his future.' Or, more accurately, _attempting_ to convince.

Johnathan Sheppard had been 16 when he had run from home, or rather driven. Only a week after receiving his license, Jonathan had flown the coop, leaving not only his house (he refused to think of it as 'home'), his state, but also his country. He had ended up in Canada. He had hidden his American drivers' license among the very few personal belongings he'd brought with him. Jonathan's plan was get adopted there in Canada by a nice, _un-oppressive_ family. When he was older he'd go back to the States for college after which he'd join the US military. The local police had tried to find out where he had come from but they were looking only in Canada. Jonathan had successfully fooled them with his thoroughly practiced Canadian accent. After a month the police abandoned their search and handed him over to Family Services of Greater Vancouver. That was the first time Jonathan hadn't needed a plan B.

The McKay family had taken him in. Dr. Darrell McKay and his wife, Mrs. Elaine McKay, had been everything Jonathan could of hoped for and more. While Elaine could never fully replace his birth mother, Jonathan found her quite similar in many ways. Darrel was encouraging, in stark contrast to Jonathan's birth father. To say he'd been excited about John's affinity for math was an understatement. Elaine had jokingly remarked that even Darrel's adopted children were geniuses. However, Jonathan had been very clear that he wanted to join the Air Force. Darrel had made Jonathan the happiest kid on the planet when he told him that math could be put to more use than just science. Jonathan had even started calling them Mother (instead of Mom, so they would be distinguished) and Dad, Jonathan considering him to be his first father.

Then there was the adopted siblings. Jean and Meredith, and no, Meredith was not a girl. Firstly both of them were incredibly smart and Jean was much more polite than Meredith. Jonathan had been a little nervous about being adopted, he'd been quite sure that he wouldn't really be accepted and end up being pretty much a loner for the rest of his life. However, Jean had been very accepting right from the very beginning. Meredith had been a bit condescending at the beginning, but that quickly changed. At first it had been downright arguing, then morphed into childish bickering, which then morphed into sarcastic, brotherly bickering. As the old adage goes, iron sharpens iron, in their case wit sharpened wit.

After a few months of settling in Jonathan had come clean with his new family. They didn't send him back but they did make him send an email to his father telling him that he was alive and well. Jonathan came to love the McKay's so much that they became family in every way other than blood, so much so that Jonathan took their last name. Jonathan finally felt that he was in control of his own life with a family who loved him. Jonathan McKay, a different but welcome change.

Ten years later Jonathan had shown up on his biological father's doorstep. Elaine had convinced him to at least try to reconcile with Patrick Sheppard. The gist of the visit was accusations about running away, abandoning not only his family, but also his family name and the family business thrown Jonathan's way. It had hurt, there was no denying it, but not as much as it could. Jonathan didn't think there was much point in hiding the hurt that he was sure was spread all over his face. Once Patrick had finished his rant (during which Jonathan had barely spoken a word) Jonathan said very few words. Patrick had ended with disowning him. Jonathan had let his soldier mask take over his face and said quietly, "No I'm not your son. I never abandoned the family or the family business or the family name because it was never my family after Mom. As for running, I had nothing left here. I was running from nothing. I left nothing behind." Jonathan said what he had to say quietly but clearly, and from the look on Patrick's face he was sure that he'd hit home. He left the house with, "Give Dave my best, good-bye Patrick."

Another decade passed. Jonathan received a black mark for trying to rescue his friend and sent to Antarctica to fly helicopters. Jonathan hadn't minded too much. Especially since Meredith had hinted not-so-subtly that he was in Antarctica. During one of his many flights he'd transported his adopted brother to a classified facility. Of course, Meredith couldn't tell him what he was working on but they had bickered happily during their flight. It was then that Meredith had black-mailed him into calling him Rod if they were in public. Jonathan had rolled his eyes but agreed on the threat that Meredith would reveal to Jean just what happened to her boyfriend Timmy. In all fairness, Meredith had agreed that Timmy had needed to go but Jonathan had been the one to actually incite fear in Timmy's heart. Timmy had seemingly disappeared, Jean had never seen him again. Both Jonathan and Meredith had feared that Jean knew more than she let on, if she did she didn't call them on it though. For a time Jonathan was content, but he should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

* * *

"Apache, Black Hawk, Cobra, Osprey." Jonathan answered the General sitting next to him.

"That's a lot of training for the Antarctic." General O'Neill stated.

"It was the one continent I never set foot on." Jonathan continued on rather than tell the general why he was in the Antarctic, though he suspected he already knew.

"It's one of my least favorite continents." O'Neill admitted.

"I kinda like it here." Jonathan responded after a moment.

"You like it here?" O'Neill repeated, disbelieving.

"Yes, sir." He replied, not mentioning that half of it was because he got to see his adopted brother more often. "Be there in about ten minutes, sir."

It had only been a few minutes before a monotone voice came over the radio saying, "All inbound craft, we have a rogue drone that can seek a target on it's own. Land immediately and shut down your engines. This is not a drill. I repeat it's not a drill."

Noticing a glowing projectile headed their direction Jonathan warned, "It's too late. Hang on."

Jonathan was only half listening as O'Neill ordered, "Break right." Jonathan, however, broke left going with the fighter pilot instincts he'd acquired over the years that had kept him alive.

"I said right!"

"I'm getting to that, sir." Jonathan answered calmly, finally turning right.

He flew around but he couldn't get a visual on the drone. "I can't see it."

"Pull up. Pull up!" O'Neill told him urgently.

Again, Jonathan put that order on hold and dropped downward.

"What about now?" O'Neill asked.

"Now's good." Jonathan aimed for the snow covered ground and pulled up, running the drone into the snow. Jonathan landed quickly and, this time, didn't hesitate in following the General's order to shut the helicopter down.

"Sir what was that?"

"Wait for it." The general raised a hand and looked out the windshield.

When the drone popped out in a spray of snow they both hastily exited the aircraft, only to have the weapon shut down and land not two feet away from General O'Neill.

Climbing back into the helicopter Jonathan remarked, "That was different." Because really, he had nothing else to say.

"For me, not so much."

Jonathan just turned and looked at him like he was crazy, not realizing how close to the truth he was.

* * *

"If you can't give me a yes by the time we reach McMurdo, I don't even want you."

While he had told the general he was thinking about it, Jonathan had known he was already leaning toward going. After all, someone had to watch Meredith's back. The truth was he just needed to let it all soak in.

"Yes, sir." Jonathan replied, deciding then and there that there was no point holding back the inevitable.

"Yes, sir, you understand or yes, sir, to the expedition?"

"Yes. Sir." Jonathan answered before realizing that he hadn't cleared things up.

"Good." O'Neill said, understanding anyway.

They had taken off and were a few minutes into flight before the general spoke again, "So, how do you know McKay?"

Jonathan smiled, "Adopted bother."

"Brothers." O'Neill parroted in surprise.

"Yes, sir." John confirmed.

"He's just so..." O'Neill trailed off, unsure of how the pilot would react if he listed the scientists more offending qualities.

Jonathan simply threw him an understanding smile and offered, "Petty, arrogant, condescending, rude."

The general nodded. "Yeah."

"It's fun to annoy him though." Jonathan added.

O'Neill laughed his agreement.

* * *

**The End?**

**I don't know if I'll ever add to this, you guys will have to tell me if it's terrible or worth expanding on some front.**

**Just in case you don't know there's a convenient little box for reviewing ;)**


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